Malaysian Idol
The word's out: we're jumping onto the bandwagon and succumbing to the Reality Show Madness Syndrome: Malaysian Idol is set to begin auditions in April.
Malaysians who wish to participate in the Malaysian version of American Idol should jump at the chance to be the first Malaysian Idol, as 8TV is looking for talented people to participate in the programme, to be aired in June.The winners will represent the country in World Idol, a contest showcasing international talents. Malaysian Idol auditions will be held from April onwards through roadshows starting in Kuala Lumpur (the nation's capital), Penang, and Johor Bahru.
Please, save me, save meeeeee...
Apparently the judges have yet to be confirmed. If we get a judge like Simon Cowell, I guarantee that contestants will be bursting into tears all over the stage. I mean, come on. "Saving face" is an Asian mantra -- public embarrassment must be avoided at all costs. We usually save the viciousness for the times when the other person is not in the room. How are our participants going to deal with sarcasm and criticism thrown directly in their face, on national TV?
Besides, it's a well-known fact that if you pose a question to a room full of Malaysian high school or college students, you often won't see even one hand raised in response. If people are so shy to even volunteer answers to a question in class, will they be willing to step out on stage and possibly be humiliated?
Then there is the multi-lingual question. I wonder if contestants are allowed to sing in Malay, Mandarin or Cantonese?
So I really wonder whether this will work. After watching the current American Idol auditions, I'm simply cringing at the whole thing. Besides, as I saw someone ask in one of the online forums, don't we already have a Malaysian Idol-type contest in Akademi Fantasia?
As long as we're talking about reality TV, I cringed even more two nights ago when I watched Wife Swap, apparently a UK reality show by Channel 4. Holy cow, that is the stupidest, STUPIDEST idea I've ever seen. Take two couples and have the wives of each exchange places for a week (which apparently lengthened to 10 days, and is now 2 weeks). Does anybody see how stupid this concept is?!
For crying out loud, it's messing with people's relationships and family life. The one I watched had a family where the man was undisputedly King Of The House and was pretty demanding. His wife held the traditional woman's role: cooking & cleaning. The second couple was much more laid-back, with the guy helping out in house chores and appreciative of what his wife did for him & the family.
Can you imagine what happened when the two wives swapped roles? Husband 1 kept on yelling at Wife 2 to get a move on, do this, do that, yadda yadda yadda -- which was very distressing and stressful for her. And of course Wife 1 got much better treatment by Husband 2 than she's ever experienced from her own husband. At first she said she was bored because she had "nothing to do" (she's so used to cleaning up after her husband, humph) and she even felt guilty coz she kept on having the feeling that she ought to be doing more. But eventually the kind treatment from Husband 2 made her contemplate leaving her own husband.
See? Messing with people's relationships and family life. I can't believe this series has actually won awards and attracted an audience of seven million. One critic has called a particular episode of the series "some of the most jaw-droppingly ghastly television ever broadcast". Another said:
Wife Swap managed to pitch the women against each other so successfully that each episode ended with the poor confused husbands looking on in wide-eyed innocence as their wives laid into each other, attacking each other's lifestyle choices and angrily defending their own. As one housewife bitterly told her career-focused opponent, "for a woman to fail as a housewife is ridiculous."
So why on earth is this offensive, disgusting and dangerous -- yes, dangerous -- series still being aired??! Do families not already go through enough stress and difficulties on their own without having to throw in additional factors into the pot?
UPDATE:
- Application forms are now available online. Only those between 16-26 years of age need apply. Registration closes on Apr 30.
- MSN discussion group: Malaysian World Idol
- For more info/news on Malaysian Idol, kindly call 8tv directly at 03-7728 8282. I have no affiliations with the station whatsoever and do not have the answers to your questions.